Artist Statement
These oil paintings by Camille Engel (b. 1955) extol the provocative splendor of sublunary objects. Revealing a life captivated by detail, these intricate works focus attention upon the rich colors and textures found in some of the most unheralded subjects while reflecting the artist’s victory over personal hardships.
Amazed and fascinated with color, texture and the wonder of even the most ordinary subject, Engel seeks to capture the richness of life in everything she sees. Abandoned to an inner zeal with a willingness to invite us into her coronation of all that is lovely, these oil paintings — most of which were created between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am (while many of us sleep) — become our invitation to momentarily step into her world of observation and share in her joy of the transcendent beauty found in everyday life.
Engel is a night painter… when night falls and much of the world becomes silent, still and lonely her energy soars. Under the peaceful blanket of darkness is when the artist best translates her creative energy onto the canvas. Then, upon entering her studio the following day, she is often struck with delightful amazement as she views the night’s work with fresh eyes.
Engel calls her style “contemporary realism,” a nod to the idea that this oldest and most conventional of styles continues to thrive and reinvent itself in an era when conceptual work tends to get more attention. For this painter, realism is the most direct and true form of self-expression. In her hands, the result is at once luminous, saturated with color and rich in detail.
“It’s a long process to create each of these paintings,” Engel says. “I try to add layers and layers of color. There’s more interest in the painting than what you see on the surface. That’s one of the things that separates me, because I revel in the painstaking detail that others find tedious.
“It’s a very introspective view for me: It’s realizing the beauty we have on earth, and also realizing the beauty in unlovely things. I have a painful background, and part of the healing process I prescribed for myself was to find beauty in what was around me and not in how I was being treated. I look at the world and people around me with wonderful gratitude and exploring realism in detail is part of that process. I now see every morning as a fresh opportunity to find extraordinary joy in the most ordinary things.”
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